The time-honored way of showing love in an Italian family is to offer food. Whether we're celebrating, mourning, happy, sad--if we're breathing, there's a table filled with great things to eat. Life's too short, so eat what you love and love what you eat.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

S'mores Pie

I have a confession to make. I don't like s'mores. I like graham crackers and marshmallows and I love chocolate, but the sandwich-type s'mores are impossible to eat and really don't do it for me. I've made s'mores cupcakes and found them much more to my liking, so I thought a s'mores pie would be a perfect dessert for a Fourth of July barbecue.

My search for a recipe produced any number of versions, but the one that most appealed was on a blog called Gimme Some Oven. While the baking time in the original recipe was way off, the flavors didn't disappoint. This is a very simple recipe. I do think there could be more crust, but it was still delicious.

INGREDIENTS

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup milk

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

2 eggs, whisked

10 -20 large marshmallows cut in half OR mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:

TO MAKE CRUST:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until evenly coated. Press mixture into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

TO MAKE PIE:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together cream and milk. Warm over medium-low heat. Add in chocolate and stir until chocolate has completely melted and is smooth. Slowly add in vanilla and whisked eggs, and whisk until smooth.

Pour chocolate filling into baked pie crust. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until chocolate filling is set and does not jiggle when pie is lightly shaken. Remove from oven.

Using a kitchen shears or a knife, cut marshmallows in half. Place halves in concentric circles over the top of the pie until covered.

Lower oven rack to the middle position, and set oven to the lowest broil setting. Place pie on the rack and lightly toast the marshmallows. (I recommend pulling them out the second you see them beginning to turn slightly golden.) You can also use a kitchen torch to toast the marshmallows instead.

Chill pie in the refrigerator to set for 2-3 hours.

TASTE NOTES

This was an easy, delicious dessert. The pie took 40 minutes to cook to the stage where it looked dry on top and had just a slight jiggle. The taste was phenomenal and just a small slice satisfies.